 A man in Baluchistan province, Pakistan, surveys his destroyed home and equipment following monsoon flooding that has devastated the country. The Church of the Brethren has given a $40,000 grant to aid Church World Service relief efforts there (see story below). Photo by Saleem Dominic, courtesy of CWS-P/A |
Church of the Brethren Newsline
Aug. 13, 2010
The Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund has given $40,000 to the work of Church World Service (CWS) in Pakistan following monsoon-related floods. The grant is assisting CWS and the ACT Alliance in supplying flood survivors with emergency food, water, shelter, medical care, and some personal supplies.
Today’s situation report from CWS said that “the torrential rains and flooding that have affected Pakistan in recent weeks continue, with at an estimated 1,600 dead and 14 million affected. Some 1.5 million people are now homeless.” According to CWS, the floods that began in the northern parts of Pakistan have now spread to four provinces covering about 82,000 square miles, out of the country’s total area of 340,132 square miles.
“As the rains continue, the waters are moving downstream like a rolling earthquake affecting Punjab and Sindh provinces further south,” the report said. “The continued rains and flooding are creating difficulties in rescue and relief operations; bridges throughout the country have been washed away from flooding and landslides; poor weather has also grounded relief helicopters. Delays in relief supplies reaching distribution points means that the affected communities must wait longer for the shelter, food, and other items which are immediately required for their survival.”
CWS is coordinating a response in a wide geographic area, working in Swat, Kohistan, D.I. Khan, Shangla and Mansehra districts of Khyber Pakhtoonkwa Province; Sibbi district of Balochistan Province; and Khairpur district of Sindh Province. As well as directly implementing aid, CWS is partnering with Participatory Village Development Program, Help in Need, VEER Development Foundation, and Nation’s Capacity Building Program. A total of 99,000 individuals or approximately 13,500 households are being served through the CWS response.
As of Aug. 6, CWS has distributed food items to thousands of households, and plans to dispatch 2,500 tents in the coming week. It is providing emergency health assistance through a mobile health unit, with two additional units to be mobilized. CWS health units under the Afghan Refugee Program have conducted educational activities and preventive measures against water-borne diseases, which have increased significantly in the aftermath of the flood. In the next few days CWS plans to distribute several hundred more tons of food with the assistance of the Royal Netherlands Embassy and the Canadian Food Grains Bank.
Contributions to the flood relief work in Pakistan may be made through a donation to the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund, go to www.brethren.org/site/PageServer?pagename=give_emergency_disaster_fund .
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Brethren in the News
“Lutherans apologize for persecution,” York (Pa.) Daily Record, Aug. 1, 2010
It was an emotional moment last month when a worldwide organization representing 70 million Lutherans issued an official apology for the cruel, 16th-century persecution of Anabaptists, asking forgiveness for their part in labeling the reformers as heretics and the violence they faced as a result….
Go to www.ydr.com/religion/ci_15668808
“McPherson Brethren pastor completes leadership role,” McPherson (Kan.) Sentinel, Aug. 10, 2010
Shawn Flory Replogle spent the past year as a traveling encourager. The McPherson Church of the Brethren pastor visited 21 of the denomination’s 23 districts and even the Dominican Republic as moderator, the highest elected position the Church of the Brethren offers…..
Go to www.mcphersonsentinel.com/news/x979356242/McPherson-Brethren-pastor-completes-leadership-role?img=3
Obituary: Marie Davis Robinson, Staunton (Va.) News Leader, Aug. 12, 2010
Marie Davis Robinson, 67, of Waynesboro died Thursday, Aug. 12, 2010, at her residence. She attended Blue Ridge Chapel Church of the Brethren. For 28 years, she worked as a psychiatric aide at Western State Hospital. Her husband, Roy Robinson Sr., survives her….
http://www.newsleader.com/article/20100812/OBITUARIES/8120337
Obituary: Richard E. Sheffer, Staunton (Va.) News Leader, Aug. 11, 2010
Richard Earl Sheffer of Churchville, 82, died Tuesday Aug. 10, 2010, at Augusta Health. He was a member of Elk Run Church of the Brethren. He was a charter and lifetime member of Churchville Volunteer Fire Department and First Aid Crew. In the 1950s, he pitched baseball for the Churchville Independents in the Augusta County League. Also during that time, he drove a “hot-rod” race car, No. 13….
http://www.newsleader.com/article/20100811/OBITUARIES/8110335/1002/news01/Richard+E.+Sheffer
“Former Hartville pastor to serve Chippewa Church,” CantonRep.com, Starke County, Ohio, Aug. 10, 2010
The Rev. David Hall, a Hartville native, has been appointed interim pastor of East Chippewa Church of the Brethren….
http://www.cantonrep.com/newsnow/x905702610/Former-Hartville-pastor-to-serve-Chippewa-Church
Obituary: Velma Lucile Ritchie, Star Press, Muncie, Ind., Aug. 9, 2010
Velma Lucile Ritchie, 92, went to be with her Lord Saturday, August 7, 2010, at Albany Health Care following an extended illness. She was a member of Union Grove Church of the Brethren. She served as deaconess at the church the majority of her married life and was a homemaker. Survivors include her husband, Clyne Woodrow Ritchie….
http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20100809/OBITUARIES/8090332
“Pastor out at church in wake of child porn charges,” Journal Courier, Jacksonville, Ill., Aug. 6, 2010
The pastor of Girard (Ill.) Church of the Brethren has been removed from the pulpit following an indictment accusing him of viewing child pornography on a computer in the Pleasant Hills Nursing Home nursing home where he serves as chaplain. The one-count federal indictment charged Howard D. Shockey, 59, with possessing of child pornography July 7, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Springfield….
http://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/church-28266-pastor-child.html
“Lincoln police arrest 3 church burglary suspects,” Journal Star, Lincoln, Neb., Aug. 5, 2010
Three people allegedly responsible for the past month’s string of church burglaries were arrested Thursday. “We have every reason to believe these are our church burglars,” Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady said Thursday after reading the names of three teens. Three men were arrested after an apparent attempt to break into the Antelope Park Church of the Brethren was thwarted….
http://journalstar.com/news/local/article_f9a08a64-a090-11df-b4d8-001cc4c03286.html